Eating Real Food for a Healthy Lifestyle

Deconstructed Paleo Egg Roll – Challenge Accepted!

(Since posting this, I have worked on the recipe more and came up with something I’m happy with. Here’s a link to the new recipe.)

Yesterday I fell off so far off the paleo wagon that I got run over by it! It started with the giant assortment of fabulous gourmet popcorn that showed up from one of our vendors — I sort of fell head first into that. Also, there may or may not have been some pizza consumed at some point. It was the culmination of a week in which I found myself cheating more than normal. Needless to say, it wasn’t my proudest moment.

If there is a plus side, it made me realize how easy it is to slip back into your evil old ways. I’ve felt so much better (and lost weight) while eating paleo that I definitely want to stay with it. I decided to recommit myself to it and no better way to do that than to whip up some fabulous recipes! While at it, I thought I’d challenge myself to try some new stuff.

The other day in my post on shopping for spices in ethnic markets, I suggested looking around while you were there to see what inspired you. As I typed it, I realized that I hadn’t done a lot of that myself lately. I shop often at the Middle Eastern and Indian markets but have never been to the Asian market, so I decided to pop in there this afternoon. I lingered for a while over the dried seaweed/kelp section before deciding that I wasn’t up to that particular challenge (you can thank me if you’d like). Further down the aisle I found the powdered chinese hot mustard — my favorite egg roll topper. I’ve been craving egg rolls something fierce lately, so I picked up the mustard and decided to figure out a way to make a paleo egg roll.

I considered using a cabbage leaf to create a paleo friendly wrap, but decided that a deconstructed egg roll might be a better/easier option. I started by shredding a 1/4 of a small head of red cabbage (it’s what I had in the house), two stalks of celery, and a couple of shallots in the food processor. I stir fried these in 1 Tbsp of coconut oil until the cabbage was wilted but still slightly crispy.

Shredded cabbage, celery, and shallots

I added 1 Tbsp (+/-) of coconut aminos (a paleo soy sauce alternate) and heated a few more minutes. I then served it topped with a dollop of fresh chinese hot mustard.

The result was not bad for a first effort. It was definitely close enough that I think it merits another go with a few modifications. It definitely could use a little meat. I think I’ll add some ground pork next time — and cook the cabbage right in the pork grease. It needed a little extra seasoning too. Definitely a pinch of salt. I’ve never used Chinese 5 spice blend, but think I may check that out too. If any of you give this a try, let me know how your version turns out.